King Solomon’s Advice to President Obama for a Reason to Meet With Wal Mart Workers About Minimum Wage

A petition is being made to President Obama to meet Wal Mart Workers to discuss the issue of minimum wages. I am surmising what King Solomon would advise the President based on his proverbs in response to this question asked by the Queen of Sheba. In regards to their petition, Politicians, vulnerable to elections, should pay special attention to the last subtle reason he gave her in the following novel excerpt.

Excerpt:

“Solomon, when you travel to your providences, what information do you seek to ascertain the truth of whether or not your governors are capable and loyal leaders?”

“One of the most important duties of a leader is to appoint the best and most capable leaders to maintain order and progress in their kingdom. I strongly believe in delegating responsibility to those I appoint to maintain order for the day-to-day tasks. I also believe a leader should travel often and check on their progress and to maintain strong personal relationships to promote trade and unity.”

“An ideal governor is an upright truthful man. A community will thrive on the candor of their governor. A king loves the candid man with integrity in his circle of advisors.” A king approves truthful speech, and loves the words of upright men. (Proverb 16:13)

“A ruler is deserving of the kind of leaders he appoints. If a ruler wants his officials to be a stickler for truth and goodness, he must himself be a stickler to attract men of caliber into his service. Men of integrity will not tolerate and serve a king that lacks rigor and probity. A king must investigate to find the truth of every affair. If the king is slack and irresponsible to seek truth, the lies of the wicked will prevail and reflect upon the king. Wicked men poison the life of the community for their own ends will seize the opportunity to serve a master of their own kind.” A ruler who gives credence to a lie, all who serve him are wicked men. (Proverb 29:12)

“Give me an example of how you go about to seek truth when you pay a visit to your providences.” Bilqis requested.

“There are different subtle ways. The first indicator is how people greet you when you come to their city. If it is a bad place for ordinary men to live, they will hide away in fear. They will act harried in your presence for fear of being exploited. If the leaders are good of heart and their morale is high, their people will rejoice on your arrival. Good or evil, depending on which has the upper hand, will influence the life of a community.” When the wicked rise to power, citizens conceal themselves, but when they perish, righteous men come to power. (Proverb 28:28)

“Another subtle method to find truth can occur when a king sits at table with his governor. If his governor cannot control his appetite, he cannot control his desires. If he eats like a glutton at the table of a king, it will be his undoing. For at a table, a king will observe and scrutinize him well. If he is a toper that drinks too much, or a hot head, you will soon know the truth. A wise host will know that his hospitality and eating habits reflect on his skills of diplomacy.” When you sit down to eat with a ruler, confine your attention to what is before you, and put a knife in your throat if you have a hearty appetite. (Proverb 23:1, 2)

“Then you may seek out and find where the poor in the community live to find truth. Observe the poor, the most vulnerable of a community, to find if they appear oppressed by injustice. You can judge the humanity of a governor by listening and observing the conditions of the poor of his community. If the governor cuts himself off from the poor, they will not hear him when he is in need.” He who stops his ear to the cry of a poor man will himself cry out and not be answered. (Proverb, 21:13)

Source: Chapter 14

As A Lily Among Thorns – A Story of King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, and the Goddess of Wisdom by Rudy U Martinka

6 thoughts on “King Solomon’s Advice to President Obama for a Reason to Meet With Wal Mart Workers About Minimum Wage”

The writings of King Solomon most certain apply, but how? It is not easy to say. King Solomon’s government was part business. He operated a trading fleet for example. Our government, on the other hand, is not suppose to engage in business.

Therefore, I think it well you did not suggest a specific solution. Obama cannot rightly offer one. Our government exists to protect people’s rights, not to tell businesses how much to pay their workers. Further, if the labor dispute somehow ends up in court, Obama’s interference would just prejudice the case.

What further complicates that matter is that the minimum wage is a fraud. What happens when government demands that an employer pay a worker more than that laborer’s work is worth? Doesn’t that question answer itself?

When government insists that Walmart or other private businesses function as charities — as it has already done — then instead of being innovative and competitive enterprises focused on producing a particular good or service, companies start looking like an arm of the government, flabby, awkward, and inept. Such companies start seeking competitive advantages from politicians, demand special protections and market exclusions, and grow in size due to political connections, not business performance. Eventually government favored companies can become too big to fail, Then we risk tax payers bailouts.

China’s government is heavily involved with China trade and they have long range goals in regards to the growth of their economy. For example, they mandate companies produce products to be sold in China be manufactured in China. We do not.have either a long range plan or any constrictions on Chinese products be, manufactured in the US to participate in the US market.

That is why there is an unfavorable trade balance of 1/2 trillion dollars every year.
Equate that number to US workers wages to obtain an approximate number of US jobs that have been lost to outsourcing..

So either they are wiser traders than us or we make foolish trade agreements that are detrimental to US workers.

Trade agreements need to be fair, free, and balanced. All the economists that said that the US dollar would return to the US in the form of purchases of US goods and services were wrong as evidenced by the huge trade imbalances of the US.

In my opinion, the so called lower price deals of imports are not such a great deal when measured against the detriments created in job losses caused by imbalanced trade.

I think China owes its “success” primarily to three things:
1. China is no longer a Communist nation. Because the Chinese government tried to make Communism work, the Chinese economy was a command economy. What Communism is in practice is what we see in North Korea. That sort of thing led to the collapse of the USSR. Seeing the pitfalls, China’s leaders started backing away from that extreme before their government lost support.
2. China’s government respects property rights. Unless property rights are respected, commerce works poorly. Without the expectation of a profit and the ability to keep it, what is the point of investing time, money, or labor?
3. China has inexpensive labor, and the Chinese culture nurtures a strong work ethic.

I suspect you hope for leaders as wise as Solomon, but if such exist, they would still be men like us. Consider that God made Solomon wise, but Solomon was still a man, prideful and subject to temptation. You have spent considerable effort putting yourself in King Solomon’s shoes. With all his wisdom, did King Solomon rule for his own benefit or for the benefit of the people he ruled?

Consider my question in light of what you know about Ecclesiastes. In my studies, I have noticed that Ecclesiastes can be extremely difficult to interpret. I have noted that scholars do not necessarily agree as to who wrote it or when it was written. Based upon what the book says about itself and the fact I take the Bible at its word, I believe King Solomon wrote it. Further, I believe he wrote it as old man, chasten by life’s experiences.

I think the last two verses of Ecclesiastes sum up what Solomon had learned.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Good News Translation (GNT)

13 After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that we were created for. 14 God is going to judge everything we do, whether good or bad, even things done in secret.

Some say Solomon did not believe we continue to exist after this life. I think that last chapter and that last verse suggests otherwise. Without a life after this one, what would be the point of God judging us?

Nonetheless, it is difficult to assess what Solomon believed about life after death. The Old Testament says relatively little about what follows this life. Like other books in the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes 9:10 speaks of Sheol. Proverbs 15:24 and Proverbs 14:27 are also interesting. Yet the Old Testament does not describe, particularly the books written before the time of Solomon, either the good place or the bad place we might go after death. I guess Genesis 5:24 says about as much as King Solomon might have known about the good place.

Thus, even though gifted and blessed in this life, Solomon must have agonized over the next. Finally, seeing no other choice — recognizing the limits of his humanity — I suspect it was then that he put his trust in the Lord.

Agree. However, keep in mind China manipulates currency to maintain favorable trade balances and allows for rampant illegal duplication of US technology and licensed products. My main peeve is not with Chinese workers, but with our Congress that ignores trade imbalances even though they know that it is detrimental to US workers.

There are other aspects that are overlooked in technology adverse effects. If you ever worked in manufacturing, you would understand that the workers and the company invest in the future with new technology methods and machinery that are learned as a product is manufactured. This skill and investment is also being lost along with jobs.

As you suggest, we should protect our industries from predatory trade practices. The problem is that we want more than is wise, and our leaders always oblige. No wiser than we, they are pleased by the powers we give them.